Conventional method and apparatus exist for making it difficult to counterfeit high value items such as rare wines and perfumes, or documents such as official documents and financial document. A basic concept to assure that the item is genuine requires a form of verification of the item, such as identifiers to confirm the items as being genuine. For example, U.S. Patent Application 2004/0000987 discloses a process for detecting check fraud using Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tags. According to this invention, the system comprises a first device for receiving from a payor a request to create a check having a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag associated therewith. A second device is provided for receiving from a payee a request to validate a check having an RFID tag associated therewith. The system further comprises an RFID repository. A processor is provided for (i) receiving check information from the payor, (ii) updating the RFID repository with check information received from the payor, (iii) receiving scanned check information from the payee, (iv) comparing the scanned check information received from the payee with certain information retrieved from the RFID repository, and (v) determining if the check is valid based upon the comparison of the scanned check information received from the payee with the certain information retrieved from the RFID repository. Preferably, the RFID repository comprises a central RFID repository. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,619 discloses a method and system for preventing counterfeiting of an item, including an interrogatable tag attached to the item. The item includes visible indicia for comparison with secret, non-duplicable information stored in the tag designating authenticity.
According to these methods and systems, it is possible to ensure that a given document has been issued by the relevant person, or that an item has been manufactured by the relevant manufacturer, or that a given official document has been issued by the relevant administration. As mentioned above, these methods and systems are based upon identifiers encoded within the RFIDs however, such identifiers can be duplicated on other RFIDs using a RFID scanner and writer.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and systems for improving authentication.